18 September saw public divisions among leading Your Party figures. And there are very legitimate questions and concerns about this, especially at a time when unity on the left is so necessary. Speaking to the Canary, on 6 September, Zarah Sultana put disagreements and arguments online down to a mixture of ‘desperation and energy’. And she said the unpolished nature of events so far within Your Party represents the authenticity of a process seeking to ensure mass democratic participation.
Zarah Sultana: “obviously people get frustrated”
The interim Your Party co-leader told us disagreements are:
part and parcel of being on the left. We argue, we debate, we discuss everything. And I think that’s a really healthy part of our politics
Zarah Sultana added:
This wasn’t going to ever be presented as a polished, packaged thing that was already designed in some backroom kind of situation, like a PR company that’s already come up with the name, has already come up with the structure, you’ve got billionaires backing it. It was always going to be in a very left-wing fashion where it doesn’t have the most polished announcement in the world. But I think that’s what makes it authentic.
And she insisted:
What we’re seeing is a desperation and an energy
Sultana insisted that “obviously people get frustrated” because “they want things to be happening at a faster pace”. They see Labour’s awfulness, “the rise of reform”, “people who are struggling to pay their bills”, and they “want to change that material reality”.
Jamie Driscoll: “there is space for everybody to come together”
Speaking in the same interview as Zarah Sultana, former North of Tyne mayor Jamie Driscoll “there’s tremendous unity” in meetings online and on the ground. He added that:
on the politics, there is almost no division at all because it’s such a huge space that’s been left by the Labour Party trying to outflank Nigel Farage to the right.
And he stressed that:
there is space for everybody to come together. And you know what? I reckon, if we ended up with a party that said, ‘look, we’re going to nationalise the utilities, we’re gonna make sure everyone has a decent pay rise, we’re gonna come right out against any form of racism, xenophobia, ethno-nationalism, and we’re going to be pro-peace, then everyone’d say, ‘that’ll do for me’.
So the unity is there. I think what you’re getting is frustration.
After the events of 18 September, Your Party supporters will be hoping for that unity to become much more visible in the project’s leadership. Because the left can’t afford more division. Not when the stakes are so high.
